The Help And Hidden Figures: Film Analysis

Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.

The movie, The Help, is based on the book written by Kathryn Stockett. It was released in 2011 and directed by Tate Taylor (Taylor, 2017). The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s, and it is about the experiences black women had as maids for white families. These women decided to risk it all and tell their stories in an effort to show what is was really like for them (Taylor, 2011). The Help illustrates how these women fought racism and prejudice by becoming unified with one another. This paper will address how prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, and inequality affect the characters and their relationships in the story.

The films, Remember The Titans and The Sapphires are both discovering significant social messages of racial conflict. With these messages and the techniques used in both films they have resulted in two powerful films that highlight racial discrimination. This essay will explore the relationship between the filmmaking and the social messages it is trying to highlight, as well as the similarities, differences and techniques shared between both films

Using the language of the moving image, which includes cinematography, editing, sound, music and mise-en-scene, this essay will investigate the ideology of Racism in film. OxfordDictionaries.com describes racism as “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” When we, the audience think of racism in film, we traditionally think of movies for adults and often overlook the sinister aspect of racism in children’s films. I have chosen to contrast a recent R-rated film with a G-rated Disney movie from the 1990s. Disney films, even up until the 1990s have persistently reinforced the image of blacks or latino and asian races as being below whites. The

Certain stereotypes have stood the test of time, no matter how many strides for racial equality have been made. Sandra Bullock’s character made the statement about the relationship between white and black people: “If a white woman sees two black men walking

Hidden Figures is a 2016 film that recounts the story of three incredible black women in NASA history: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. The film largely sheds light on the experiences of these three women working as computers for NASA during 1960s segregated America. Public restrooms are separated between the whites and coloreds, the white male patriarchy dominates the field, and as always, racism is alive and well. During the film, the political unrest of the country is present and very much of conversation, and as these three women navigate their way throughout society with positions no one expects them to hold, they quite literally make history through their groundbreaking work, history

is no law saying that every film involving cross-racial relationships has to make some kind of defining statement about racism or race-relations in general, but there should be a rule against painting such broad character strokes using painfully obvious and patronizing stereotypes.” (Mendelson’s Memos)

Though the US is among the most culturally diverse nations, racial stereotyping is still evident. While assessing various Hollywood films, one can visibly observe racial stereotypes. Characters of ‘color’ (as they refer to non-Caucasian characters) are not significantly presented in the mainstream television and film shows (Lester, 2011). Numerous non-Caucasian characters are often given stereotypical roles that include maids, immigrants, prostitutes and other criminals. This applies to characters of African American, Hispanic, Irish, Jewish, and Middle Eastern origins.

The theories of Laura Mulvey and Bell Hooks share their views on how individuals who attend the cinema have the opportunity to gaze and interrupt the messages that are being portrayed. Based upon their views, spectators can have their own beliefs and views of life and not have to focus on societal practices of racism and sexism. The article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” critiqued by Mulvey, focused on how sexism and voyeurism were the main theme in terms of how males dominated society and how woman were subservient to males due to castration. In the article “In Black Looks: Race and Representation” Chapter 7, The Oppositional Gaze, Hooks mainly focused on black woman’s identity and touches on both sexism and male/white female dominance over them. Both Mulvey and Hooks help to focus ones attention on how the white male sexist and black racial domination is portrayed by Hollywood in cinema. An example of this portrayal is represented by the movie “The Help”, produced in 2011 and directed by Tate Taylor.

Everyone has faced prejudice once in his or her life. Some have faced prejudice more than others. “Hidden Figures” tells the story of three colored women working at NASA who faced prejudice not only because of their color but their gender too. They proved everyone wrong by achieving incredible things, despite being limited. The movie shows comical and serious sides that make it entertaining to watch as well as educating about the past.

For many centuries racism has being an ongoing problem and occurrence in many societies, especially in America. Many different measures have been taken to try and diminish the racism that clearly infests this beloved country, but none have ever truly worked. Although these measures have never effectively worked to erase racism out of our society as a whole, some have opened people's’ eyes in creative ways to understand that it is no joke. One measure that has somewhat worked is through media and the arts such as cinema, literature, and paintings. An example of cinema is Jordan Peele’s movie, “Get Out” that portrays racism through a sense of horror that captivates a viewer's mind to see and understand the underlying theme of it all. “Get Out” is about a young African-American man named Chris who falls for a young Caucasian woman named Rose. Together they are going up to meet Rose’s family who put on an act to make it seem like they are somewhat normal, but in reality lure young African-Americans into their home every year to auction them off to a group of older white people so they can use their bodies for pseudo-immortality. Peele’s horrific movie “Get Out” opens a viewer's eyes and mind to the different concepts of racism and how brutal and unjust it is to people of color.

Based off of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel, The Help is a movie told from an African American’s point of view during the early 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi. The three main characters include, Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia (Skeeter) Phelan. Skeeter is a young writer who has recently returned from the University of Mississippi. She has been advised by the Elaine Stein, who is the head editor at Harper & Row, to write about a topic she is passionate about, that way she can continue her dream of becoming a serious writer. In addition, Skeeter accepts a writing job down at the Jackson Journal where she writes a housekeeping column. Ironically, she has no housekeeping experience as she grew up with in house help. In order to keep her job she goes to Aibileen, her friend Elizabeth Leefolt’s housekeeper. At this point in her life, Aibileen is just trying to get by. She writes out her prayers on a daily basis as a way to clear her mind since she is fairly reserved on the outside. On the contrary, Aibileen’s friend Minny is also a housekeeper, but she has a rather sharp tongue which doesn’t usually work in her favor. Consequently, she is trying to find a new employer, but is having trouble since there is a bit of discord between her and the most influential socialite in Jackson, Mississippi.

This movie is amazing and inspirational to other young black women, it shows that you many struggle but if you keep going your dreams and hard work will be recognize. This film touch on the gender norms and racial norms, which has strong connection to the four reading I choice to critical review this blog. This movie has strong connection to the Gaga Feminism theory, the concept is “a set of wholesale changes that may be most obvious in the realm of gender norms but that also stretch too many other realms of everyday experience and that call for improvisational feminism that keeps pace with the winds of political change.” Hidden-figures proved that Black women can do whatever they want if they put their mind to it. This is breaking down what society has deem as the normal way of doing this.

Society has changed and evolved throughout time. Perhaps one of the most significant changed in contemporary American society is the treatment towards African Americans. “The Help” a feature film directed by Tate Taylor is based on the non-fictional novel “The Help” written by author Kathryn Sockett. The feature film explores the life of African American maids of Jackson Mississippi, in the early 1960’s. The 1960’s displayed all African Americans to being left out of the “American dream” through neglect and racism. African Americans faced prejudice and discrimination in almost every aspect of their life, from jobs to housing and even their education. They were denied the right to sit at the same lunch counter or use the same public rest

An emotionally stirring movie taking place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s, “The Help” stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer as three women who share a common motive. This racially tense setting creates the perfect foundation for a drama film such as this. The characters’ personalities in combination with the emotion of the plot develop a socially accurate depiction of the struggles faced by the people of the time. While the racial aspect of the movie is dominant, viewers may also find compassion and friendship within the conversations and encounters of its characters.